Deadline Motivated

Lotus Table and Stools

I am deadline motivated. Working for an international construction company for almost a decade only cemented that habit. Lately I have tried to free myself of the tyranny of the deadly to do list. But whether I write it down on a note pad or my calendar or the book of lists it is still there in my mind. And I cannot ignore the end date.

When assigned term papers during my days in academia I would rush out and choose a subject(s) and do all the research which in those days entailed filling out stacks of 3 x 5 cards. Then appearing to do nothing until three days before the paper was due. But in some recess of my mind I was writing and rewriting.

During school summer was the time with no deadlines. Now it is winter which allows me to free float. Summer seems to be one deadline after another from getting the hoop house topped out, to the firewood ordered and stacked in the woodshed. Allowing myself to be a professional artist only made that worse. 

In spite of the injured shoulder I have met my two self-imposed deadlines - rearrangement of the studio space and getting a photographic commission completed. Now back to working toward the Angel Fire Studio Tour deadline of September 29 and 30. But first comes my vacation with my sister. That is a deadline only in the sense of things I want to get done before I take off for five days. 

Dad used to have this plaque on his wall about vacations: Two weeks after which you are too tired to go home and too broke not to. It always amused me because I cannot remember my father ever taking us on a two full week vacation but once. Mother had the to be done before departure list which included making the house look as if it had never been lived in. Trust me I am not doing that.

But I am committed to not being behind schedule when I return. And dedicated to forgetting the deadlines while on vacation.